Thomas and Friends: The Classic Series
The Classic Series was produced from 1984 to 2003. Episodes from these seasons were 5 minutes and 30 seconds long, including the introduction and credits. The classic series is considered to be the first 7 seasons of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. The British versions were narrated by Ringo Starr and Michael Angelis; the American versions were narrated by George Carlin, Alec Baldwin and Michael Brandon. Ringo Starr narrated Series 1 and Series 2; George Carlin narrated Series 1, Series 2, Series 3, and Series 4; Alec Baldwin narrated Series 5 and Series 6; Michael Angelis narrated Series 6 and Series 7; Michael Brandon narrated Series 7 episodes in the US for the VHS and DVD release, The New Friends for Thomas and Other Adventures. David Mitton directed the classic series, with Junior Campbell and Mike O'Donnell as composers and Gullane producing it as an independent studio. "The Unaired Pilot" The Unaired Pilot was the pre-production test episode of the television series. The pilot was based on Down the Mine and had simpler sets, fewer characters, and flatter lighting. Because it was a test pilot, the episode never aired on television and was only viewed in a test screening. DowntheMine79.png|Thomas' pilot model Series 1 The 1st''' series''' of the television series is the 1 season of the television series. It aired in the United Kingdom in 1984 and in the United States 1989-1996. This season was originally narrated by Ringo Starr for the UK/US and George Carlin for the US. Characters introduced: *Thomas – the Tank Engine (Voiced By Ben Small) *Edward – the Blue Engine (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Henry – the Green Engine (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Gordon – the Express Engine (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *James – the Red Engine (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Percy – the Saddle Tank Engine (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Toby – the Tram Engine (Voiced By Bill Farmer) *Annie and Clarabel – Thomas's 2 Faithful Coaches (Voiced By Anna Bentinck And Morweena Banks) *Henrietta – Toby's Faithful Coach (Voiced By Anna Bentinck) *Troublesome Trucks - the Giggling Trucks (Voiced By Adrienne Posta And Anna Bentinck And Ben Small And Bob Saker And Chris Lang And Eric Idle And Keith Wickham And Lewis McCleod And Martin Clunes) *Terence – the Tractor (Voiced By Bill Farmer) *Bertie – the Bus (Voiced By Bob Saker) *Sir Topham Hatt – the Controller of the North Western Railway (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Stephen Hatt - Sir Topham Hatt's Grandson *Bridget Hatt - Sir Topham Hatt's Granddaughter *Lady Hatt – Sir Topham Hatt's Wife (does not speak) *Jeremiah Jobling - the Man Who Has a Bootlace (Voiced By Bob Saker) *Engine Inspector *The Stone-dropping Boys *The Butler (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *The Ffarquhar Policeman (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Farmer Finney - Terence's Driver (cameo) *Mrs. Kyndley - Sir Topham Hatt's Husband (Voiced By Adirenne Posta) *The Storyteller (not named) *Percy's Workshop Friends (wheels and buffers only; do not speak) *The Marklin Engine (cameo) *The Ffarquhar Stationmaster (cameo) *Earnest - the Broad Gauge Tender Engine (portrait cameo) *The Green Bus - the Passenger Bus (indirectly mentioned) Highlights: *The first series to be narrated by Ringo Starr in the UK and George Carlin in the US. *The first series to be filmed in full screen. *The only series where all of the episodes are adapted from the Reverend W. Awdry's stories. File:ThomasandGordon9.png|Thomas File:EdwardandGordon7.png|Edward File:Coal(TAFepisode)22.png|Henry File:ThomasandGordon66.png|Gordon File:TroublesomeTrucks26.png|James File:TroubleintheShed30.png|Percy File:ThomasinTrouble(Season 1)24.png|Toby File:Thomas,TerenceandtheSnow4.png|Annie and Clarabel File:ThomasinTrouble(Season 1).png|Henrietta File:Thomas,TerenceandtheSnow35.png|Terence File:ThomasandBertie37.png|Bertie File:DirtyObjects39.png|Sir Topham Hatt File:ThomasinTrouble(Season1)18.png|Lady Hatt File:JamesandtheCoaches28.png|Jeremiah Jobling File:ThomasinTrouble(Season1)17.png|The Butler File:ThomasinTrouble(Season1)11.png|The Ffarquhar Policeman File:Thomas'sChristmasParty6.png|Mrs. Kyndley Series 2 The 2nd''' series''' of the television series aired in the United Kingdom in 1986 and in the United States 1989-1996. This season was originally narrated by Ringo Starr for the UK/US and George Carlin for the US. Characters Introduced: *Duck – the Great Western Engine (Voiced By Ed Wynn) *Donald and Douglas – the Scottish Twin Engines (Voiced By Bob Saker And Lewis McCleod) *Bill and Ben – the Tank Engine Twins (Voiced By Chris Lang And Ben Small) *Diesel – the Devious Diesel Shunter (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Daisy – the Diesel Rail-Car (Voiced By Adrienne Posta) *BoCo – the Mixed Traffic Diesel Engine (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *The Spiteful Brakevan - the Rude Breakvan (Voiced By Bob Saker) *Trevor – the Traction Engine (Voiced By Bill Farmer) *Harold - the Helicopter (Voiced By Bob Saker) *Jem Cole - Trevor's Driver (Voiced By Bill Farmer) *The Vicar of Wellsworth (Voiced By Bill Farmer) *The Barber *Daisy's Fitter *The Ffarquhar Stationmaster's Wife (Voiced By Anna Bentinck) *The Careless Cleaner *Three Engine Inspectors *Father Christmas - the British Name for Santa Claus (does not speak) *Percy's Ghost Engine - a Mysterious Engine Mentioned in a Story Told by Percy (does not speak) *The Naughty Boys (do not speak) *The Lady with the Floppy Green Hat - the Lady Was Saying Goodbye to a Friend (does not speak) *The Enthusiasts (do not speak) *The Firelighter (does not speak) *The Ffarquhar Stationmaster's Children (cameo) *Harold's Pilots (cameo) *British Railways Diesels (mentioned) *The Mainland Diesels (mentioned) *Sam the Farmer - the Farmer (deleted scene; mentioned) *Big City Engine - the Foreign Engine (dropped) Highlights: *The first series to feature stories by Christopher Awdry. *The first series to feature a story never adapted from the Railway Series. *The final series to be narrated by Ringo Starr in the UK. File:DuckTakesCharge46.png|Duck File:BreakVan1.png|Donald and Douglas File:TheDiseasel2.png|Bill and Ben File:PopGoestheDiesel5.png|Diesel File:Percy'sPredicament23.png|Daisy File:WrongRoad17.png|BoCo File:BreakVan22.png|The Spiteful Brakevan File:ThomasandTrevor33.png|Trevor File:TheRunaway40.png|Harold File:SavedFromScrap44.png|Jem Cole File:SavedFromScrap26.png|The Vicar of Wellsworth File:ThomasandtheMissingChristmasTree3.png|Father Christmas Series 3 The 3rd''' series''' of the television series aired in 1991-1992 in the United Kingdom and the United States. This season was narrated by Michael Angelis in UK and George Carlin in the US. Characters introduced: *Oliver – the Great Western Tank Engine (Voiced By Bob Saker) *Mavis – the Quarry Diesel Shunter (Voiced By Adrienne Posta) *Bulgy – the Double-Decker Bus (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *The New Signalman *The Railway Foreman *The Quarry-master *Toad – the Breakvan (does not speak) *The Railway Society (do not speak) *The Injured Sailor (does not speak) *City of Truro - the Famous Tender Engine (not named; does not speak) *Flying Scotsman - the LNER Class A3 Pacfic Tender Engine (not named; tenders only; does not speak) *Farmer Trotter - the Owner of the Farm (not named) *Big Mickey (faceless; cameo) *Coast Guard (faceless; cameo) *Izzy Gomez (faceless; cameo) *Bulgy's Friend - the Red Double-Decker Bus (mentioned) *Anopha Quarry Manager (mentioned) Highlights: *Britt Allcroft's first season as producer. *First series to have episodes never based off of material by either Awdry. *Michael Angelis' first season as the narrator in the UK. File:Bulgy(episode)17.png|Oliver File:Bulgy(episode)32.png|Bulgy File:Escape(TAFepisode)58.png|Toad File:GordonandtheFamousVisitor31.png|City of Truro File:TenderEngines.png|Flying Scotsman Series 4 The 4th''' series''' of the television series aired in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1994-1995. It was narrated by Michael Angelis in the UK and George Carlin in the US. Characters introduced: *Stepney – the Bluebell Engine (Voiced By Eric Idle) *Skarloey – the Crimson Red, Narrow Gauge Engine (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Rheneas – the Red Narrow Gauge Engine (Voiced By Eric Idle) *Sir Handel – the Blue Narrow Gauge Engine (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Peter Sam – the Green Narrow Gauge Engine (Voiced By Lewis McCleod) *Duncan – the Yellow Narrow Gauge Engine (Voiced By Lewis McCleod) *Duke – the Old Narrow Gauge Engine (Voiced By By Keith Wickham) *Smudger – the Rude Narrow Gauge Engine (Voiced By Bob Saker) *Rusty - the Little Narrow Gauge Diesel (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *S.C. Ruffey – the Privately Owned Truck (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *George – the Steamroller (Voiced By Richard Newman) *Caroline – the Car (Voiced By Adrienne Posta) *Bulstrode – the Barge (Voiced By Bob Saker) *Refreshment Lady (Voiced By Anna Bentinck) *Nancy – a Conductor's Daughter (Voiced By Anna Bentinck) *Tom Tipper – the Postman (Voiced By Bob Saker) *The Inspector with the Bowler Hat *The Portly Man (Voiced By Martin Clunes) *The Crovan's Gate Policeman (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *The Dryaw Policeman (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Stepney's Controller *The Mid Sodor Railway Manager *The Important Passenger *The Elsbridge Cricket Club *The Painter *The Tailor *The Railway Board - a Group of Men *Class 40 - the Snobbish Diesel (Voiced By Keith Wichkham) *Queen Elizabeth II - the Queen of England (does not speak) *The Elephant Keeper (does not speak) *Other Mid Sodor Railway Engines - Two Engines from the Mid Sodor Railway (indirectly mentioned) *The Dukes of Sodor (indirectly mentioned) Highlights: *George Carlin's last series as the narrator in . *First season to feature the Skarloey Railway. *George Wolf's last series as the writer. *Last season to be featured on Shining Time Station as well as the only series to be featured on Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales. File:FourLittleEngines49.png|Skarloey File:GallantOldEngine12.png|Rheneas File:SteamRoller24.png|Sir Handel File:GallantOldEngine17.png|Peter Sam File:GallantOldEngine49.png|Duncan File:Granpuff34.png|Smudger File:Trucks!77.png|Rusty File:ToadStandsBy43.png|S. C. Ruffey File:SteamRoller11.png|George File:SpecialAttraction43.png|Bulstrode File:PeterSamandtheRefreshmentLady49.png|Refreshment Lady File:MindThatBike24.png|Tom Tipper Series 5 The 5th''' series''' of the television series aired in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1998-2000. It was narrated by Michael Angelis in the UK and Alec Baldwin in the US. Characters Introduced: *Old Slow Coach - the GWR Victorian Luxury Coach (Voiced By Adrienne Posta) *The Horrid Lorries - Lorry 1, Lorry 2 and Lorry 3 (Voiced By Bob Saker And Keith Wickham And Richard Ridings) *Cranky – the Crane (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Old Bailey – the Fogman (Voiced By Bill Farmer) *The Fire Brigade *The Special Visitor (Voiced By Martin Clunes) *Mrs. Kyndley's Daughter *Tiger Moth's Pilot - the Pilot of Tiger Moth *Derek - the Diesel (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *'Arry - the Ironworks Diesel (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Dowager Hatt - Sir Topham Hatt's Mother (Voiced By Adrienne Posta) *The Lighthouse Keeper - in Charge of Warning Ships (not named) *Bert - the Ironworks Diesel (does not speak) *Bertram – the Old Warrior (does not speak) *Rusty's Ghost Engine - a Mysterious Engine Mentioned in a Story Told by Rusty (does not speak) *Butch – the Breakdown Vehicle (does not speak) *Thumper - the Quarry Machine (does not speak) *The Wedding Guests (do not speak) *Tiger Moth – the Bi-Plane (does not speak) *Boulder - the Mysterious Boulder (does not speak) *Harry Topper (mentioned) Highlights: *The first series to have episodes narrated by Alec Baldwin for the US. *First series never to include any stories from the Railway Series. File:DoubleTeethingTroubles47.png|Derek|link=Double Teething Troubles File:StepneyGetsLost59.png|'Arry|link=Stepney Gets Lost File:StepneyGetsLost60.png|Bert|link=Stepney Gets Lost File:Toby'sDiscovery83.png|Bertram|link=Toby's Discovery File:HorridLorry59.png|Butch|link=Horrid Lorry File:HorridLorry.png|The Horrid Lorries|link=Horrid Lorry File:CrankyBugs4.png|Cranky|link=Cranky Bugs File:HauntedHenry85.png|Old Bailey|link=Haunted Henry File:GordonandtheGremlin98.png|Dowager Hatt|link=Gordon and the Gremlin File:RustyandtheBoulder15.png|Thumper|link=Rusty and the Boulder File:SirTophamHatt'sHoliday17.png|Tiger Moth|link=Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday Thomas and the Magic Railroad Thomas and the Magic Railroad '''was released on July 26, 2000. It was narrated by Alec Baldwin as Mr. Conductor. Characters Introduced: * Lady - the Golden Engine (Voiced By Britt Allcroft) * Diesel 10 - the Mean Diesel (Voiced By Neil Crone) * Splatter and Dodge - Diesel 10's Bumbling Minions (Voiced By Neil Crone And Kevin Frank) * Mr. Conductor - the Conductor of Shining Time (Voiced By Alec Baldwin) * Junior - Mr. Conductor's Cousin (Voiced By Micheal E. Rodgers) * Lily - the Granddaughter of Burnett Stone (Voiced By Mara Wilson) * Lily's Mother - the Mom in the Big City (Voiced By Lori Hallier) * Stacy Jones - the Manager of Shining Time (Voiced By Didi Conn) * Burnett Stone - the Tetartagonist (Voiced By Peter Fonda) * Billy Twofeathers - the Railway Engineer (Voiced By Russell Means) * Patch - the Young Teenage Boy (Voiced By Cody McMains) * The Tumbleweed - the One-Off Character (Voiced By Neil Crone) * Tasha Stone - Burnett Stone's Wife (voice-over as a child; portrait cameo) * P.T. Boomer - the Main Antagonist (cameo; full role cut) Highlights: * Diesel 10 and Lady were featured in Calling All Engines! Series 6 The 6th series''' of the television series aired in the United Kingdom and the United States in 2002-2004. It was narrated by Alec Baldwin in the US and Michael Angelis in the UK. Characters Introduced: *Harvey – the Crane Engine (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Salty – the Dockside Diesel (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Elizabeth – the Vintage Sentinel Quarry Truck (Voiced By Adrienne Posta) *Jack – the Enthusiastic Front Loader (Voiced By Bob Saker) *Alfie – the Little Green Excavator (Voiced By Lewis McCleod) *Oliver – the Big Excavator (Voiced By Bob Saker) *Max – the Dump Truck (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Kelly – the Crane (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Byron – the Bulldozer (Voiced By Bob Saker) *Ned – the Steam Shovel (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Isobella – the Truck (Voiced By Adrienne Posta) *Jenny Packard – the Owner of the Sodor Construction Company (Voiced By Adrienne Posta) *The Foreman (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Cyril the Fogman - the Fogman (Voiced By Bill Farmer) *Allicia Botti – the Famous Opera Singer (Voiced By Adrienne Posta) *The Smelter's Yard Manager - in Charge of the Sodor Ironworks *The Coaling Plant Manager - in Charge of the Coaling Plant *The Vet *Headmaster Hastings (Voiced By Chris Lang) *Farmer McColl - the Farmer (Voiced By Bill Farmer) *Edward's Ghost Engine - a Mysterious Engine Mentioned in a Story Told by Edward (does not speak) *The Fisherman - the Owner of the Norramby Fishing Village (cameo) *The Dockyard Manager (cameo) *The Captain - in Charge of the Docks (cameo) *Mr. Jolly - the Owner of Mr. Jolly's Chocolate Factory (factory logo cameo; mentioned) Highlights: *The final series to be narrated by Alec Baldwin in the US. *The first series to feature a full writing staff. File:NoSleepforCranky20.png|Salty File:ElizabeththeVintageLorry67.png|Elizabeth File:JackJumpsIn108.png|Jack File:JackJumpsIn51.png|Alfie File:JackJumpsIn27.png|Oliver File:AFriendinNeed(TAFepisode)31.png|Max File:AFriendinNeed(TAFepisode)99.png|Kelly File:JackJumpsIn30.png|Byron File:AFriendinNeed(TAFepisode)32.png|Ned File:JackJumpsIn38.png|Isobella File:AFriendinNeed(TAFepisode)96.png|Jenny Packard File:JackJumpsIn42.png|The Foreman Series 7 The seventh series of the television series aired in the United Kingdom and the United States in 2003-2004. It was narrated by Michael Brandon in the US and Michael Angelis in the UK. Characters Introduced: *Emily – the Emerald Tender Engine (Voiced By Anna Bentinck) *Fergus – the Traction Engine (Voiced By Eric Idle) *Arthur – the Big Red Tank Engine (Voiced By Lewis McCleod) *Murdoch – the Large Goods Engine (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Spencer —the Streamlined Tender Engine (Voiced By Keith Wickham) *Sodor Brass Band - a Brass Band from the Mainland (Voiced By Bob Saker And Chris Lang And Eric Idle And Keith Wickham And Lewis McCleod And Martin Clunes And Richard Ridings) *Lord Callan - the Lord of the Callan Castle (Voiced By Lewis McCleod) *The Teacher - the Passenger on Rheneas' Train (Voiced By Anna Bentinck) *Dusty Miller - the Miller Who Has the Old Windmill (Voiced By Chris Lang) *The Duke and Duchess of Boxford - Two Visitors from the Mainland (do not speak) *The Mayor of Sodor - in Charge of the Island (mentioned) Highlights: *The last series to have Michael Brandon as the narrator of the US. *The last series to use the classic opening titles and theme. *The last series to be filmed in full screen. File:What'stheMatterwithHenry?46.png|Emily File:Bill,BenandFergus40.png|Fergus File:GordonandSpencer21.png|Spencer File:Edward'sBrassBand46.png|Sodor Brass Band Title Sequences and logos The title sequence has a duration of 30 seconds and displays the main tributes to the episode. Series 1-5 In these seasons, it shows Thomas, Annie and Clarabel going through 3 main scenes, the windmill, the rail under road bridge and signal box, and finally ending with Ffarquhar station. Production Crew Credited: *Based on the Railway Series by the Rev. W. Awdry *Adapted by Britt Allcroft *Told by Michael Angelis/George Carlin/Mike Nawrocki/Alec Baldwin/Ron Frost *Directed By David Mitton The ending titles had Thomas next to Tidmouth goods sheds looking at the rolling credits. Throughout these seasons, the logo changed fonts and from colours red to yellow. In their restored versions, they all have the same cloud logo. File:ClassicSeries.png|Restored seasons 1-5 and season 7 opening title Series 6 In this series, it starts off with a snowy scene of the windmill (albeit a different angle), the watermill, the rail under the road bridge and signal box, and Ffarquhar station. File:Season6opening.png|Special Season 6 opening titles Series 7 Series 7 has the same intro as seasons 1-5, but with the series' current logo and in 16:9 full screen. File:Seventhseasonopeningtitles.png See Also *New Series *CGI Series